Thursday, February 18, 2010

Revisionism and The Blueprint Prophecy

Imagine, if you will, a leader of a religious group or secret society who based his entire movement on a foundational document - but yet would not share the contents of that document. Sacred writings, which were delivered to him by an unidentified mystery prophet. A blueprint which was confirmed to him by a "supernatural encounter which included an angel and a demon." Writings which were confirmed by yet another prophet, one who later was discovered to have had women stand in front of him naked while he "prophesied" over them.

Mormonism? Freemasons? No, this movement is known as the "24/7 Prayer Movement" whose adherents are called "Forerunners." They are best known as the "International House of Prayer" (IHOP) and the leader is Mike Bickle.

The foundational document is something they call the "Blueprint Prophecy."

In Bickle's world it is a given that all prophesies must be tested and judged. However, Bickle to this day, has not released a complete, full version of the prophecy which was given to him in writing. Assuming that other leaders in the movement may have had access to the complete document, the parallels to Mormonism and Freemasonry are stunning. In movements such as these, certain elements of their teachings are revealed only to those who have earned trust.

Looking for the earliest extant version of the Blueprint Prophecy has been like looking for the Dead Sea Scrolls. Or the golden tablets. According to Mike Bickle, the original Blueprint prophecy was received on March 26, 1984. Bickle also states that the Blueprint was not made "public" until 2002, although portions have been withheld. This have been independantly confirmed by notes posted by IHOP staffer Greg Burnett, who states the decision to release an edited version was made November 7, 2002. Burnett also did a cut and paste from the 2002 version to his website in 2003(1).

The 2006 version of the Blueprint Prophecy(2) is identified as an edited version and is dated March 26, 1984. However, this version was created on MS Word (not available in 1984) by Jack Hill and the meta-data tag is August 15, 2006. The 2006 version varies little from the 2002 version.

The 2009 version(3) , which was posted on the IHOP website in support for a special 10 year anniversary celebration which featured talks on the history of the movement by Mike Bickle.(4) It was prepared by Stephen Jordan (on a Mac OS X 10) on September 28, 2009. The document states that it was edited on September 19, 2009 by Misty Edwards. Interestingly enough, some changes that were made in 2006 were reverted in 2009.

Judging Prophecy

Bickle has stated that this document is a "comprehensive prophetic word." The unidentified prophet stated "the Lord gave me the blueprints for your movement."(5) While Bickle has not ascribed to the blueprint the weight of scripture, it is clearly identified as a prophetic word from the Lord. A case could be made from Bickle's teachings that Bickle looks at all scripture though the lens of the Blueprint Prophecy. Nonetheless, Bickle's own movement teaches the importance of judging prophetic words.

Somehow, the Blueprint Prophecy gets a "free pass." Bickle has stated that portions were removed by him, things that, in his words fell into the category of "I don't know what that means,"(7)so he did not want them in print (circulation).

Mike Bickle, in 1982, received a prophetic word that said "I (the Lord) will change the understanding and expression of Christianity in one generation."(8)If Bickle's movement is indeed this significant in the history of the church then, like scripture, the dispensation of this message should not be left up to "private interpretation." (c.f. 2 Peter 1:20)

Shifting Sands
Even more disturbing is the changing nature of this pivotal document. In response to accusations of aberrant doctrine and practice, Bickle's organization released a statement of "Affirmations and Denials" in 2008.(9) The document addresses issues such as the "Latter Rain" and the "Joel's Army." Bickle says his prophetic movement is all about "standing boldly in faith for what the Spirit is saying."(10) Could it be the "spirit" keeps changing his mind? Or is the "spirit" saying things for which we cannot "boldly stand?"

Dozens of changes have been made and will no doubt be discussed by others. For the purpose of brevity, I would like to highlight just a few typical revisions. The first has to do with the "Latter Rain."

In Affirmations, Bickleattempts to distance himself from the label "Latter Rain," a doctrinal aberration espoused by the entire apostolic/prophetic movement. (11) In their most recent edit of the foundational document, supernaturally delivered and confirmed, Bickleconveniently removed the phrase Latter Rain. Is this one of those things which Bickle does not "know what it means?" Surely someone has explained this to him at some point in time.
***Bickle, as with most large para-church organizations, has not been immune to criticism regarding money. Bickle's organization of "Treasure Bringers"(12) ("Ministers of Finance" in the blueprint) seeks men who will behave like an "unrighteous steward." One leader within his organization has stated “The Treasure Bringers are those with an anointing from God to facilitate this massive wealth-transfer.” “They are spiritual ‘Robin Hoods.’ Their greatest joy is plundering the wealth of the world for their Lord.”(13)Perhaps editing the prophecy could tone this down a bit.

Note that the phrase about "checks and money," although deleted in this portion of the 2009 word, reappears later on in the prophecy where the phrase "I will be your purse bearer" occurs again. The "purse bearer" phrase is seen twice in 2006, but only once in 2009. So here we see a shift in location and frequency of certain critical statements, perhaps changing the emphasis of those statements.
***

Just as the King James and the NIV bibles are translated in different manners, so it is with the Blueprint Prophecy. In the case of the Blueprint, we cannot go back to the original Greek. We can't even go back to the original English!

Here it appears that Bickle was either attempting to modernise some archaic language (archaic in 1983, too) or he wanted to avoid the implication that he would have both male and female mates, thus distancing him from Ted Haggard and many other fallen figures in the Charismatic movement. Personally, I think its a credible change, but this does not represent an edit, but rather a translation.

This however, is a distraction. Note the real purpose of this paragraph is to state that Bickle is the new Moses. Perhaps other portions of this prophecy are even more grandiose which could be another explanation as to why they remain secret. Bickle states that some secret things in the prophecy were "too big" for him to wrap his brain around. No problem with the Moses thing, though.Bickle also corrects what could lead to blatant theological error in removing "You shall" from the phrase "You shall consecrate." This makes sense, but the question as to the original text, the "prophetic word," remains.
***
This section features a few simple edits which seem benign enough. The emphasis supplied in the 2009 version seems to be a justification of the cult-like atmosphere seen at the Kansas City compound ("City of Habitation").

More importantly is the tacit approval of the teachings of Mike Bickle seen in the statement "Your doctrine shall be my doctrine - by My Spirit." This is not unlike the standard charismatic validation of a prophetic word: "The Lord says - hear the word of my prophet, for I have given him my word." The use of the phrase "by My Spirit" in the 2006 version plausibly implies that God has a work to do in Mike Bickle, and that He is going to align Bickle's doctrine with His. The 2009 version implies that God will adopt Mike Bickle's doctrine. ***
And it is this sort of grandiose elevation of Mike Bickle above mere mortals that causes alarm. Simply put, if what was delivered in the original prophecy was so significant, should not the body of Christ know? Or is Mike Bickle the benevolent Pope whom God entrusts, but others cannot handle this divine revelation. Martin Luther, where are you now?

Indeed, in the Blueprint Prophecy (unabridged), Mike Bickle has been established as the one who will "anoint with the Holy Oil" the accepted ones in the last days church - the bride that prepares for the soon coming Lord. And as previously noted, Bickle is the one who "shall consecrate" this people.
***If you would like to examine the several versions of the Blueprint Propehcy along with a complete parallel comparison of the 2006 and 2009 versions, please download this booklet which expands greatly on the work contained in the article. parallelblueprint.pdf

I don't think further commentary is necessary. I am nailing this article to the door of the internet.If you have followed Mike Bickleblindly, accepting everything he has said, and believing that he has kept things secret to protect you, or because you could not possibly understand it, I am calling you to repent. It is wrong to accept unjudgedprophecy and let it govern your life.

By their own admission the Blueprint Prophecy is foundational. Mike Bickle has chosen to keep secret certain portions of that written word which was once delivered to him, and to revise other portions which seem offensive. Mike, it is time to show us your cards.

"We believe that the subjectivity of the prophetic ministry
must be vigorously tested against the inspired and infallible Scriptures that
God gave for doctrine, reproof, correction and for instruction in
righteousness."Affirmations and Denials(6)

"Now these were more noble-minded than those inThessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the
Scriptures daily (to see) whether these things were so."
(NASB) Acts 17:11.

"Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should
weigh carefully what is said." (NASB) 1 Corinthians 14:29

20 comments:

Love the old Mormon pics! It really shows the correlation between IHOP and the Mormons.

Someone else, on another blog, mentioned the similarities between IHOP and the Mormons - specifically Independence, Missouri, a Mormon holy city, being part of the Kansas City metro area.

A couple of years ago, I lent my sister, who has since moved to KC to be near IHOP, my copy of the now very rare book "Nightfall at Nauvoo". This is a book on the history of Mormonism in West Central Illinois, where Joseph Smith was "martyred."

Little did I realize how close I was coming to the truth of the matter, knowing nothing about IHOP at the time, but much about the Mormons.

Thanks so much for the link. I actually had seen this at one time and forgot all about it. Burnett has had a long involvement with IHOP and ZHOP. The context of this webpage, along with references in the source code, credibly date this back to 02/03. I have no doubt that is an accurate copy of the first public release of the document dated November 2, 2002.

I've not done a complete comparsion, but this is an edited version and at first glance looks very much the same as the 2006 version on hand.

The URL contains underscores, and they don't often make it through the comment box, so here is a shortcut to that link.

Blueprint prophecy in quotes and italics - commentary on the excerpts follow.

"Even as the children of the renowned – shall they be." - In the bible the only time children of renown are mentioned was the offspring of "the sons of God" and the daughters of men - the Giants or Nephelim. Gen 6:4

"You shall be a dresser of My vineyard, says the Lord, and the vineyard shall be these people that I shall bring unto you and out of you." - The attributes of the Father who is the true vinedresser are appointed to Mike Bickle in this prophecy.John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

"As I give you the word of My messengers, you shall hear and it shall be confirmed as a truth in your heart and you shall act upon it." - God never confirms anything by our hearts. Not ever in scripture does God tell us that confirmation of His word is to be based upon our heart's inclinations.

"You shall not be able to bear the burden alone. I shall raise up helpmates" - What happened to I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me?

"I will send wise men even as I sent wise men to behold My Son's birth, so shall I send wise men to teach you, help you, guide, you and to be a strength and a source of supply to you." - Mike is now predisposed to receive from "wise men" such as Bob Jones, Paul Cain rather than the Holy Spirit .. key attributes of the Holy Spirit have now been given to men.

So do you suppose that the removal of certain items from the Blueprint Prophecy is the 34% of inacurate prophecy? Therefore leaving the 66% there that is true?

And of course they can also use the fact that 66% of the time there will be an acurate prophetic word. So while the others involved with this matter have been proved to be false, this particular word is one of the 66%. Wow,,,

Bill, this is very good..... especially the part about being Latter Rain and then cutting it out of their history. I know several people who were former students there and who told me that IHOP denies being part of the Latter Rain, but just uses different jargon to cover it up.

I thought you might be interested in this version of the prophecy dated 1984:

Here's something interesting to ponder - in July of 1993 Christianity Today reported that Bickel admits to allowing "mystical and stupid" prophecies in the church but says that had been corrected in 1994.If so, why do they still teach the "Blueprint Prophecy" - or why to they keep it "mystical" by witholdin parts of the word?

Just found this is Chris Sarris' notes on the 1997 Prophetic History tape series. Sarris was an IHOP staffer:

"That night before all of this happened, Mike and Augustine had read the Blue Print prophesy. Augustine said that if the Lord gave him the chance, he would ask the Lord if the Blue Print prophesy was from the Lord or not. During this whole episode, towards the end, Mike heard Augustine ask the Lord this very question. The Lord replied that there was much light and much truth in it, but that it was not ALL the truth. Mike said that he has kept a lot of the Blue Print prophesy personal for awhile, but sufficed to say that it was about full scale revival with Signs and Wonders in Stadiums... and that any more detail would just be sub categories under this. He said that any more description would just get people into pride because of the scale and magnitude of it.

In the "Choose an identity" section - if you click Name/URL you can enter your name or at least a screen name. The URL is optional. Comment by NAME is encouraged, as all should own up to thier comments.

Disclaimer: We do not necessarily agree with
all of the conclusions presented in the above-listed material, but present this list as a rather comprehensive source of quotes and reports of practices of the Latter-Rain and Manifest Sons for research
purposes.

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Beyond Grace starts the conversation on the golden calves of the so-called third-wave. Your participation is welcome, regardless of viewpoint. Please feel free to contact BG editor William Fawcett at fawcetwd@gmail.com

Why the name "Beyond Grace" ?

"In the Christian life, holiness is not optional. Many Christians seem to think about holiness as if it is like something added to a car, such as fancy leather upholstery instead of the normal kind of plastic. But that is not true.

Holiness is an essential part of salvation. In Hebrews 12:14 the writer says, Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no man will see the Lord. What salvation do we have that does not bring us to see the Lord? But without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

We have in our contemporary Western Christianity a very incomplete picture of salvation. 'If I get saved and born again, and then I want to go on and be holy. I can do it - but it is an option.' I want to tell you that your salvation depends on your being holy. And holiness comes only from the Holy Spirit."-Derek Prince

The extravagance of God (His "surpassing grace" 2 Corinthians 9:14) is so unmeasurable that it takes us "beyond grace". It is this extravagence that allows us to live a life that is holy and pleasing to Him - this is our reasonable act of worship (Romans 12:1).